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Paramount Insurance secured a 29 per cent year-on-year growth in profit to Tk 90.7 million in 2024, supported by higher premium income amid a challenging business climate.
Subsequently, the insurer's earnings per share (EPS) rose to Tk 2.23 for 2024 from Tk 1.73 the year before, according to a regulatory filing on Thursday.
The growth was achieved at a time when the country's economic indicators showed signs of gloom.
Profit increased due to a higher premium income, interest income and realized gains from the sale of securities, said company secretary Zharna Parul.
The company's commitment to boosting innovation and operating efficiency helped it stay on a strong growth trajectory, she added.
Although the company reported a higher profit, the board of directors has recommended a nominal 10 per cent cash dividend for 2024 as much as it paid for the previous year. That means investors will get Tk 1 per share against earnings of Tk 2.23 per share.
The total number of shares is 40.66 million and so investors will get Tk 40.66 million in cash dividends from a profit of Tk 90.7 million. That means the company will retain most of its profits earned in 2024.
Meanwhile, the stock of Paramount Insurance plunged 5.34 per cent to Tk 39 per share on Thursday on the Dhaka Stock Exchange despite the reported growth in profit.
The company will hold an annual general meeting (AGM) for final approval of the dividends along with other matters on May 27. The record date is April 22.
The insurer's net operating cash flow per share, a measure of a company's ability to generate cash from its operations, rose to Tk 2.91 per share in 2024 from Tk 1.54 in the previous year.
The net asset value, which refers to the excess of total assets over total liabilities, reached Tk 27.26 per share in 2024, up from Tk 26.56 in 2023.
In Bangladesh, general insurance companies do business mainly in three segments -- fire, transport and marine.
Industry insiders say the persistent macroeconomic challenges and runaway inflation hit the general insurers' business but higher investment income helped profit grow.
As the bank interest rate increased, the income of insurance companies having cash surplus is growing.
The Bangladesh Bank (BB) removed the interest rate cap and replaced it with a market-driven reference rate in May last year, which drove bank deposit rate higher.
Paramount Insurance is one of the leading general insurers, providing insurance coverage for fire, marine cargo, marine hull, engineering, personal accident, overseas medical claims, motor vehicles etc.
Paramount Insurance is yet to disclose its annual gross premium income for 2024. However, its nine months' gross premium income rose 15 per cent year-on-year to Tk 420 million through September last year while net premium income soared 35 per cent to Tk 260 million.
Its nine months' investment income stood at Tk 27.26 million through September last year, as against a loss of Tk 1.83 million during the same period last year.
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